A Chatham-Kent family is in shock after a four-year- old boy was hit and killed by a pickup truck.

Police say it happened around 7:15 p.m. Sunday night, west of Thamesville, near Kent Bridge.

“It's very tough times right now," says the boy’s uncle Jacob Guenther.

He says Martin Guenther, 4, was hit by a pickup truck while playing outside.

“Right away somebody just came running into the door and call 911," said Guenther.

Relatives say the boy was playing in a ditch with friends and other family members when he climbed out onto the gravel road.

Police say the boy was then struck by a Ford F-150 pickup truck.

He was taken to the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, where he died a short time later.

"We're all trying to figure out exactly what happened yet,” says Guenther. “But we can just go by what we heard from the six-year-old right now."

The boy's uncle says Martin had just celebrated his fourth birthday on April 12.

Along with his parents, he leaves behind two brothers and a sister.

"They had been in the yard, when they just walked off a little bit and just like that it happened,” says Guenther. “Like it all happened in a very short time."

He says Martin was one of the calmer kids and it's not something that they would expect from him.

"Very happy little boy and he was usually pretty good at staying out of trouble," says Guenther.

Police say it is a somber reminder to all parents.

"This tragedy certainly serves as a somber reminder to all of us today that playing anywhere along any roadway is very dangerous," says Chatham-Kent police Const. Renee Cowell.

Chatham-Kent police say the collision remains under investigation.

The 55-year-old driver of the truck was not injured and remained on the scene.

"We have nothing against him,” says Guenther. “He did pretty good, he stayed and helped however he could. Just we would like to have more information on exactly how and what."

Cowell says police are asking all parents to talk to their children tonight and remind them about the dangers of playing near any roadway.

The family says they're looking for more information because they only have the word of a six-year-old witness.

Anyone with any kind of information is asked to contact Chatham-Kent police

Funeral arrangements and a memorial are still being planned.